


on confessions without words

by ccaeruleus



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff and Angst, M/M, my boys are struggling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-07 22:34:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20478212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ccaeruleus/pseuds/ccaeruleus
Summary: They had an odd habit of watching each other leave.





	on confessions without words

**Author's Note:**

> [the edit version of this fic](https://www.instagram.com/p/B2R9apPADsB/?igshid=1hles9a9vcbpc)

“There’s something important I have to tell you,” Mike said, looking away.  
Will waited.  
Mike chickened out.  
Will shook his head.  
From the age of 12 to 14, Mike Wheeler tried every day to tell him how much he meant to him.  
And so did Will Byers.  
But they had an odd habit of watching each other leave.  
Averted eyes.  
Shut doors.  
Hung-up phones.  
Heavy rains.  
All of them were broken promises.  
And Mike couldn’t, for the life of him, tell Will that he was important. That he wanted to touch his hair. That he watched him sleep while he slept over. That his heart kept in his throat whenever he smiled. That he adored the way he looked while drawing.

And Will couldn’t, for the life of him, tell Mike that he drew him instead of drawing flowers. That he loved the way Mike’s eyes lit up whenever he was talking about one of his passions. That he stared every time Mike turned away. That he got his hopes up whenever Mike called his name, only to get them crushed again.  
Will went for his bike.  
“Will.”  
He started cycling away.  
“Will!”  
They were 12, 13, 14, they were in kindergarten, they were on the Wheelers’ porch.  
Will was leaving.  
“Will, please!”  
His bike fell to the floor.  
They were standing in the rain.  
Mike’s head went quiet like it did every time.  
Will bit his lip.  
Neither dared to breathe in fear that the other might disappear if they did.  
It was every drawing Will drew. It was every flower crown Mike made.  
It was every missed opportunity.  
And it took them three years to realize that words were nothing.  
They sat on the floor and held each other in the rain.

**Author's Note:**

> (bonus: they both caught a cold and watched movies while sniffing and cuddling.)


End file.
